A healthy result should fall into the range 0.6 - 2.6 %.
Reticulocytes are newly produced, relatively immature red blood cells (RBCs). A reticulocyte test determines the number and/or percentage of reticulocytes in the blood and is a reflection of recent bone marrow function or activity.
Red blood cells are produced in the bone marrow, where blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells differentiate and develop, eventually forming reticulocytes and finally becoming mature RBCs. Reticulocytes are approximately 24% higher in volume in comparison with mature RBCs. Unlike most other cells in the body, mature RBCs have no nucleus, but reticulocytes still have some remnant genetic material (RNA). As reticulocytes mature, they lose the last residual RNA and most are fully developed within one day of being released from the bone marrow into the blood. The reticulocyte count or percentage is a good indicator of the ability of a person's bone marrow to adequately produce red blood cells (erythropoiesis).
RBCs typically survive for about 120 days in circulation, and the bone marrow must continually produce new RBCs to replace those that age and degrade or are lost through bleeding. Normally, a stable number of RBCs is maintained in the blood through continual replacement of degraded or lost RBCs.
A variety of diseases and conditions can affect the production of new RBCs and/or their survival, in addition to those conditions that may result in significant bleeding. These conditions may lead to a rise or drop in the number of RBCs and may affect the reticulocyte count.
insert the value from you Reticulocyte Count test result.
Decreased RBC production may occur when the bone marrow is not functioning normally. This can result from a bone marrow disorder such as aplastic anemia. Diminished production can also be due to other factors, for example, cirrhosis of the liver, kidney disease, radiation or chemotherapy treatments for cancer, a low level of the hormone erythropoietin, or deficiencies in certain nutrients such as iron, vitamin B12, or folate. Decreased production leads to fewer RBCs in circulation, decreased hemoglobin and oxygen-carrying capacity, a lower hematocrit, and a reduced number of reticulocytes as old RBCs are removed from the blood but not fully replaced.
Occasionally, both the reticulocyte count and the RBC count will be increased because of excess RBC production by the bone marrow. This may be due to an increased production of erythropoietin, disorders that cause chronic overproduction of RBCs (polycythemia vera), and cigarette smoking.
Acute or chronic bleeding (hemorrhage) or increased RBC destruction (hemolysis) can lead to fewer RBCs in the blood, resulting in anemia. The body compensates for this loss or to treatment of deficiency anemias (such as iron deficiency anemia or pernicious anemia) by increasing the rate of RBC production and by releasing RBCs sooner into the blood, before they become more mature. When this happens, the number and percentage of reticulocytes in the blood increases until a sufficient number of RBCs replaces those that were lost or until the production capacity of the bone marrow is reached.
$15 per month
Select this plan$59 per year
Select this plan$250 single payment
Select this planHealth is not exactly rocket science. You just have to know what your body needs and doesn't need. Your medical tests contain that information. Upload them to our service and we’ll help you understand, organize, and act on them.
Get Started
"I was really concerned about my lab results and my GP was not able to see me for another week. Through HealthMatters I was able to interpret my results instantly."
"I've been keeping all my lab results in a spreadsheet, covering approximately 20 years. The HealthMatters team helped me upload that info into the cloud. I can show this data to my family and doctors now easily."
"I had no idea what my lab results meant. Here I found all the biomarkers that I was looking for online. Finally, I have not only organized them all neatly in one place, but I am also grateful to be able to understand what they mean."
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put security measures in place to help protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of information under our control. We use procedural, physical and electronic security methods designed to prevent people who aren't authorized from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. See our Privacy Policy for more information.
Ammonia, Beta-2 Glycoprotein I Ab, IgA, Bicarbonate (HCO3), Serum, C-Reactive Protein (CRP), Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA), Ferritin, Fibrinogen Activity, Fibrinogen Antigen, Haemoglobin A1c, Haptoglobin, Iron, IRON (Serum), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), Large Unstained Cells (LUC), Large Unstained Cells (Percent), Magnesium, RBC, Nucleated red blood cell (NRBC), Plateletcrit (PCT), Reticulocyte Count, Thrombocytes, Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), Transferrin, Transferrin saturation (Iron Saturation), UIBC
